TEHRAN - Hajj return flights from Saudi Arabia to Iran came to an end on Monday, when the last flight returning Iranian hajj pilgrims from Medina landed at Imam Khomeini International Airport.

All Iranian Hajj pilgrims have come back home by the return flights from Saudi Arabia to Iran, said the managing director of Imam Khomeini Airport City (IKAC), Mehr reported

The last flight returning Iranian hajj pilgrims from Medina, operated by Iran’s flag carrier Iran Air, landed at Imam Khomeini International Airport at 1:31 a.m. local time, on Monday, concluding this year’s hajj flights, Ali Rostami told IKAC News.

Since July 8, a total of 23,000 hajj pilgrims have been transported from Salam terminal at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport City (IKAC) for Medina and Jeddah over the course of 30 days.

Since the beginning of the Hajj flight season (August 17), about 22,810 Hajj pilgrims and 712,432 kg of cargo have been transported from Medina for Salam terminal at (IKAC) via 95 flights.

Imam Khomeini Intl. Airport’s newly-inaugurated Salam Terminal hosted hajj pilgrim flights in Tehran.

Salam Terminal was officially inaugurated in June in the presence of President Hassan Rouhani. The new terminal, with a capacity of transporting five million passengers per year, has increased IKIA’s capacity by 80%.

Performing hajj is compulsory on every Muslim at least once in their life. It is one of the largest annual gathering of human beings on earth, with approximately three million people gathering each year for three to five days between the 8th and 12th of Dhul-Hijjah, the last month of the lunar calendar.

AFM/MG